COMMERCE, Texas – The young Northwestern State softball team powered through, in more ways than one, on Saturday to pick up its first Southland Conference win of the season, 8-7 at East Texas A&M.
After a pair of agonizing one-run losses on Friday, the Demons (4-30, 1-11) set an early tone with a double and home run to take a 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Demons slugged three long balls and three doubles in the game, needing each one to hold off the Lions (9-26, 5-7) in the late stages for the win.
NSU put the frustration of Friday’s results behind the right away by taking an early lead and doing so with authority.
Sophia Livers drew her first walk of the day to start the game and came in to score two batter later on DJ Lynch’s first of two doubles in the game. Lynch was able to jog home two batters later on Riley Schwisow’s third home run of the season staking NSU to the early 3-0 lead.
Lynch helped stretch the Demon lead to five in the top of the third. Daniel launched a two-run home run to left as NSU opened a 6-1 lead.
“(Assistant coach) Brad (Fuller) and I have talked about how a lot of the times we are getting singles and how we needed to get more extra base hits this weekend,” head coach Jenny Fuller said. “We were able to do that today. We hit some out. Hit some to the wall. That felt really good to see.”
A pair of solo home runs in the bottom of the third inning from the Lions cut the Demon lead down to 6-3 and a three-run home run in the fifth made it a one run game in the fifth at 7-6.
Brynn Daniel provided the eventual game-winning run in the seventh by launching her second home run of the game, and third of the weekend, on the second pitch she saw for an 8-6 lead. She is the first Demons since Kat Marshall in 2022 to hit two home runs in a game.
The solo shot provided enough insurance for the Demons to endure a one-out sacrifice fly that made it an 8-7 game. Reliever Grace Ann McDonald got the next batter out on a chopper back to her in the circle to secure the win and her first career save.
“It was huge for us to put up a three spot in the first inning,” Fuller said. “Whenever you do that it sets the tone for the rest of the game. That gave us momentum without a doubt.
“And we’re still just trying to trust the process and understanding that eventually those one-run games are going to go our way. It’s continuing to fight, be gritty, bear down and be at your best when your best is needed,” she said.
TRACK AND FIELD: With some competitors in Austin at the Texas Relays and most of the squad in San Marcos at the Bobcat Invitational Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Northwestern men and women had a slate of personal bests and season best marks, again headlined by senior sprinter Maygan Shaw.
While she has owned the 400-meter dash in her NSU career, Shaw proved she is not too shabby at the 200-meter dash either. She ran a personal-best 23.42 to win the event at the Bobcat Invitational.
She was one of four NSU athletes to post a top-five finish during a successful second day at the Bobcat Invitational and Texas Relays on Friday. Randy Kelly, Roy Morris and Ryah Dates all posted top-five finishes.
Dynia Lewis, Sileena Farrell, Tavis Wilson and Elijah Rowe all posted personal best sprint times on the third and final day at Texas State.
“It was a pretty good day,” head coach Mike Heimerman said. “We did some things well and didn’t in some the spots. We will learn and move forward.”
NSU next competes at ULM, then hosts the Leon Johnson NSU Invitational April 11-12.
